Russell Morris

As part of our commitment to capturing and sharing great Australian music stories, the Australian Music Vault asked some of the country’s most influential trailblazers and unsung heroes to open up about their lives in music.

Singer-songwriter Russell Morris is one of Australia’s most versatile artists scoring five Top 10 hits during the 1960s and 1970s before reinventing himself in the 2010s as Australia’s premier blues storyteller. In 1969, Morris released the career-defining psychedelic classic, ‘The Real Thing’ written by Johnny Young and produced by Ian “Molly” Meldrum. Throughout the 1980s, Morris performed with various combos including Russell Morris and The Rubes, and in 1992, he appeared alongside John Farnham, Kate Ceberano and John Stevens as Simon Zealotes in the Australian stage revival of Jesus Christ Superstar.

In 2012, Morris released Sharkmouth, the first in his trilogy of Australiana blues albums. Drawing on traditional American blues and roots music, Morris reimagined the stories of Phar Lap, the Bendigo Gold Rush, and the Australian gangsters of the 1920s and 1930s. His unique take on the blues garnered a new generation of fans, and in 2016, he received the ARIA Award for Best Blues and Roots Album for the third album in the trilogy, Red Dirt – Red Heart.

Russell Morris was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2008.

In this interview with Brian Nankervis, Russell Morris talks about his experience recording of ‘The Real Thing’, the inspiration behind his Australian blues narrative, and his time playing Riff Raff in the stage production of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Interviewer: Brian Nankervis

Location: Melbourne Room, Arts Centre Melbourne, 2017